Ventilated awning shutter



Nov. 8, 1938. Y s. A. JONES VENTILATED AWNING SHUTTER Filed June 17,1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1933- s. A. JONES VENTILATED AWNING SHUTTER- FiledJune 17, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gin/110M041,-

sm jadfam 40 "or partially closed- Patented Nov. 8, 1938 "PATENT OFFICEVENTILATED AWNING snowman Sidney A. Jones, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Application June 17,

2 Claims.

"I'hls invention relates toprotective devices (or windows or'similarbuildingopenings, and it belongs to that class of closures known asawning shutters"; that is, shutters which, when open, 5 function asawnings for protection against sun 'and rain, and when closed, serve asshutters to entirely close the windows or other openings to which theyare applied. t One of the objects of my invention is to prolOfduce'ajseli' opening structure, which, when released from its closed position,will automatically moveto the awning position, and which bynormaloperation from within the building can be brought to the closed orshutter position. 15' A. further object is to-produce a structure oithecharacter mentioned which will be automatically locked inopenpositi'onby certainoL the parts assuming the relation of elements of a togglemechanism; and which prevent closing of 20the structure until thetoggleisbroken.

A further-object of the inventionis to eilect ventilation, both whenthestructure is used as an awning, and when itisused asa shutter; and"to this end the upper or awningportion of the U25"structure is providedwith pivoted elements, so

[connected with operating devices within the building thatthey may beoperated to openfor closeat the willof theuser, whether the strucp Itheawningwill turn at this pointa Thehinges I tu're is in; open orclosedposition.

30'; *Referring to the accompanying.drawings? Fig. 1 is apershectiveview oi'lmy ventilated awning shutter, showing the louvresjor sl'ats ofthe ventilating devices "in partiallyYopen posi- 35 Fig. 2 is asectional view oithe structure, showbut showing the awning shutter inposition.- l p l 'Figai 'is a sectional"viewyshowing the struc-"ture*closed and serving as asunder, "and with the louvres orslats lyingclose one upon; the "/oth m 1', ,1, 1'

front view sameisclosed. l

Fig.16 is a fragmentary view of "the structu're, as shown-in Fig;2,-enlarged to*more' clearly dis- :x-elosethe constructior'iJ +1 1 Fig..7:" is. an enlarged viewof one of the hinges i and i'rela'ted parts; bywhich the "structure secured'toithebuildingi 1 1 @Beieringto thedrawings; the structure in genwe'ralqmaybe said to consist; of ianuppenoriawnof the structure; the

,5; ing section proper sllliandaa lower portion. The

1936, Serial No. 85,780 (01. 20-59) ,upper section comprises a top railll, side rails I 2 and I3, and a bottom rail II. In the top sectionlouvres or slats 15 are pivoted in the side rails l2 and lit. The lowerportion, comprises two longitudinal sections, one of which I! is pivotedorhinged at l8 to the bottom rail H of the awning section, the other I9is pivoted or hinged as at 20 tosection I]. The pivots or hinges l8 and20 are so arranged that section I! may be folded under the rail of theupper section, and section I 9 may be folded undersection IT, as shownin Figs. 2, 3 and 6. The construction is not limited, to theuse of twofoldable sections, and more may be used; it is I necessary only thattheawning section shall not be unduly shortened by these folding sections,so that the ventilating space shall not be interfered with.

The upper or awning portion I0 is pivoted or hinged as at 2| to thebuilding 22, or to the window frame 23, in any suitable manner. It ishere shown securedto a, special rail 24, which isiastened to thebuilding, in any convenientway. ,The rail24 is provided. with a lip orprojection 24 Fig. 7, which extends below the top of the rail ll of theawning proper so: as to prevent the entrance of water at this joint. Thehinges center at the point where this stripstops, so; that are offset,so that the lower laf 2l' is out of line withahe uper leaf, as shownmore particularly in Fig. fl; 'The window" sill is representedat 25 andis here shown only conventionally.

j The lou'vres' or slats [5, as stated above, are pivoted at lfiin the.side railsfland [3013 the awningportionlfl of the structure. On oneside, 'hereshownfas the inner side, the inner edges of the slatsarepivotally connected to a rod 26 by meansjot staples 2l, Fig. .6, int,manner, well known in' th'e art." An operating cord 28, has its *upperendcohnected to the rod'26 at or near the uppereh'd 2 9;the're0f anda'spring'do, Figs. and -6,"i's "secured-to the lowerend; This-cord atits I upper end 28 passes over' or around a suitable" pulley d'l securedat or nearthe upper'endof the window frame. Asuitable anchor for thecord 23 isshown at 33, Fig.2. a The spring 30 attached to the lower endof rod 26 tends to hold the'rod'26 depressed and the slats l 5 open.'To' close-them, the cord 28 is drawn down and secured to the anchor 33,'or' by some other convenientmeansr- W @By loosening the operating-cord28', the'rod 26 is moved idown by spring T 30,-and 2the= louvres orslats I! caused to open. on the other hand, if the louvres or slats arestanding open, and a pull is given the operating cord, they will beclosed. The louvres or slats II are made to overlap as is usual, so thatwhen shut they entirely close the top of the awning.

Braces or arms 40, one or either side of the structure, Fig. 5, arepivoted at their upper or inner ends in suitable bearings 4|, secured tothe window frame or building structure, and at their other ends arepivoted to the lower section I! of the shutter structure, as at 42. Whenthe structure is elevated to the awning position, these braces 40 assumea more or less nearly horizontal position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2;and when the structure is closed, they fold down substantially parallelwith the face of the window, as shown more particularly in Fig. 4.

The relations of the pivots 4| and 42 of the braces 40 to each other,and to the pivots of the hinges iii, are important; for together theyconstitute means for locking the awning in open position. The braces 40,the auxiliary section l9, and the pivots 4|, 42 and 20 togetherconstitute the elements of a toggle mechanism. As the parts move fromclosed to open position the pivotal points 42 of the braces 40, one oneither side of the structure, move from a position where they are insubstantial vertical alinement, Fig. 4, through intermediate positions,Fig. 3, to final position, Fig. 2. In this latter position, the pivot 42on each side is shown to have moved above a straight line drawn throughthe pivots 4| and the pivots of hinges It. So long as the parts are inthis position, no amount of pressure on the top or outer edge of theawning I II, can cause the awning to close, the parts being locked inthis position. To close the structure, this toggle arrangement must bebroken, as will be described below.

Spring means, here shown as a sufliciently strong helical spring 45 hasits upper end securely fastened to the upper part of the awning section,and its lower end to the upper portion of the lower foldable section l9,as at 41. The function of this spring is to lift, or assist in lifting,the awning, as will be more fully described hereafter. There may ofcourse be two or more of these springs, the number being determined bythe strength of the springs and the size of the awning.

An operatin cord or chain 48 has one end secured as at 49, to the lowerrail 44, or some other convenient portion of the awning section It). Theother end is free, and is to be used by the operator, primarily forclosing the structure, as will be explained more fully hereafter. Ananchor 50 for the chain or cord is mounted on the window frame or atsome other convenient place.

In Fig. l the awning portion of the structure is shown surrounded by avalance of any suitable material 55, which protects the front and sidesof the opening in the usual way, but which may or may not be used asdesired. When the awning is raised, as shown in Fig. 1, this coveringopens out, as shown in Fig. 1, and when it is lowered, the same hangsloosely around the awning portion of the structure.

Operation The louvres or slats ii are free to move without regard to theposition of the structure as a whole, and these elements may be openedor closed, whether the structure as a whole is raised to the awningposition or lowered to the s u e position. And they may be operated fromwithin the building, so that it is always possible to operate theseelements to control light and ventilation; and this may be importantwhen the awning is in use, just as it may be if the shutter is closed.

By making the lower parts of the structure of separate foldablesections, the shutter may be readily shortened to the proper length foruse as an awning, or lengthened to serve as a shutter. It is importantthat the foldable sections I1 and I! shall be relatively narrow, for iftheir width is limited, these elements will not cover any substantialpart of the slatted awning, thus leaving nearly this entire area freefor light and ventilation. Only two of these folded sections are hereshown, but more than two may be used; it is only important that they bekept relatively narrow.

The spring means 45 is preferably of considerable strength, to of itselfraise the structure from closed to open position, and the spring 45 andthe braces 40 are so connected to the shutter proper, that the springmeans shall serve to automatically lift the structure, and as it doesso, cause the pivoted sections to fold upon themselves, as shown inFigs. 2 and 6. And, the operating cord 48 is so connected to thestructure, that when Pulled on by the operator, it will tend to unfoldthe pivoted sections l1 and I9, thus starting the closing; and continuedstress on the cord will entirely close the structure to shutterposition. A tying of the cord will hold the shutter closed, althoughlocking means may be used if desired.

Assuming the shutter to be closed, the spring will be under strongtension, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, and the operating cord or chain 48will be secured to its anchor 50. Upon loosening the cord, the springwill tend to shorten, and in doing so will cause the sections I! and [9to turn upon their hinges l8 and 20. The parts will at first assume someintermediate position, as shown in Fig. 3; but as it continues tocontract, the upper ends of the braces 40 turn in their sockets 4|;their outer ends turn in their sockets 42; the lower end of the awning,with the supplemental sections l1 and I9 folded thereunder, swings outand moves up until the folding has been completed, and the parts assumethe position shown .in Figs. 2 and 6, and come to rest. The spring means45 holds the awning raised, with the sections l1 and I9 folded as shown.It is locked in this position against closure by pressure from theoutside, because the pivots 4|, 42 and ill have established the lockedtoggle position before referred to.

As the awning rises under the action of the spring 45, the edges of thefoldable sections I I and I9, at the point where they are securedtogether by the hinges 20, strike the cord 48, now loose at the innerend, and fold the cord over the edges of these sections. The reason forthis is to help in the closing of the shutter.

To lower the structure to shutter position the operator must apply forcein opposition to the tension of the spring 45. By drawing on theoperating chain or cord 48, there is a tendency for the same, where itpasses over the edges of the folded sections I1 and IE, to now turnthese sections on their hinges l8 and 20, causing them to first assumethe position shown in Fig. 3, and to then entirely open out, as shown inFigs. 4 and 5, and close the window. The operating cord 48 is secured toits anchor 50, and the structure is secured in place as a shutter.

The relative width of the foldable sections with respect to the part IIof the awning proper is important; for with these sections relativelynarrow, when they are folded up and under the awning, they do not'substantially interfere with the function of the pivoted louvres orslats, so that substantially the whole of the slatted section is stilluncovered, and ventilation may be effective, notwithstanding the factthat the sections are beneath the lower part of the awning.

From the above, it will be seen that I have produced a simple,convenient and highly practical awning shutter; one that will openautomatically; that will be automatically locked open against externalpressure; and which can be readily adjusted to control the flow of aireither when open or when closed.

' The above is a complete description of the invention, and of themanner of its use, but it is to be understood that changes in detailsmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. An awning shutter, comprising an awning section having slats pivotedtherein, means for operating the slats to open and close the same tocontrol'light and air therethrough, an auxiliary section comprising aplurality of operatively connected members the top one of which ispivoted section so as not to interfere with the function and operationof the pivoted slats.

2.'An awning shutter, comprising an awning section having horizontallyarranged slats pivoted therein, means for operating the slats to openand close the same to control light and air therethrough, an auxiliarysection comprising a plurality of pivotally connected members the topone ofwhich is pivoted to the lower portion of the awning section,braces adapted to be pivoted at one end to the building and at the otherto the lower one of the. pivotally connected members, means for raisingthe structure and for folding the pivotally connected members uponthemselves and beneath the lower portion of the awning section so as notto interfere with the function and operation of the pivoted slats.-

SIDNEY A. JONES.

